The government is allotting an additional $3 million in relief funding to Sulawesi to further emergency response efforts in the Indonesian region.

The government initially committed $1.6 million to the earthquake and tsunami-hit island.

Now, it has announced an additional $1.5 million in immediate funding for agencies working on the ground delivering practical assistance. In addition, a further $1.5 million will be allocated as stand-by funding to support the international community’s efforts for emergency relief activities and early recovery projects, making New Zealand’s total contribution to the Sulawesi response $5 million.

“The scale of the relief effort required following last week’s earthquake and tsunami is becoming increasingly apparent, and there are many people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance,” Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters noted.